1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved hang glider. More particularly, it relates to such a hang glider which is not dependent totally on upward moving air currents to provide lift for the hang glider. Most especially, it relates to such a hang glider which utilizes manually supplied force to provide lift in its operation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fixed wing hang gliders, such as those known as Rogallo wing type, are now well known. The state of the art of such hang gliders is exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,116,406 and 4,116,407. Such hang gliders are dependent on air updrafts to maintain them airborne. For even the most skilled hang glider pilot, piloting such hang gliders involves locating and using such updrafts to postpone the inevitable descent to earth. In this respect, the operation of such hang gliders mimics part of the behavior of soaring birds. However, soaring birds also utilize occasional wing movement to give them lift, so that they are less dependent on air updrafts to maintain them airborne. Thus, these soaring birds can control their flight path, rather than be controlled by it.
The art of human powered flight has just now begun to achieve its first successes. For example, the "Gossamer Albatross" utilized a leg driven propeller, with a mechanism similar to that employed in a bicycle, to replace the internal combustion engine used to drive a propeller in a heavier aircraft. While that approach provided sufficient lifting force to enable the "Gossamer Albatross" to cross the English Channel, using human power to drive a propeller requires a pilot with superb physical conditioning, and the successful English Channel crossing was a physical ordeal for even such a pilot. The use of a human powered propeller for flight, therefore, appears to represent a barely achievable goal. For most sport flying, another approach to human powered flight is therefore indicated.